


ABC

by alphardhy



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-13 02:58:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7959706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphardhy/pseuds/alphardhy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>effort, n.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It is worth it. </em>
</p><p>Jack and Bitty's relationship told through short dictionary entries. (The title is quite self-explanatory, really.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A–F

**Author's Note:**

> I posted two of these on Tumblr before I decided to write something for every letter of the alphabet, so you may see them around.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Isaac Newton discovered the laws of motion and gravity, and last night, before he fell asleep, Bittle was amazed to find out that Jack Laurent Zimmermann loves him back._

**A.**

**and,**   _conj._

There is always _something more_ when it comes to them, some kind of follow-up. Sometimes it is a kiss, teasingly placed on the cheek after an “I’ll wait up for you” whispered by Bittle. Sometimes it is a half-hearted “I hate you” neither of them believes, prompted by a comment about Bittle being grumpy in the mornings. Most days, though, it is a conversation they definitely should not be starting because it is late, they have already spent the last two hours talking over Skype, and they need to sleep. ( _God_ , why aren’t there forty-eight hours in a day instead of twenty-four? Those nightly calls will never be enough.)

* * *

**B.**

**brave,** _adj._

Providence has yet to wake up, Bittle’s hand is warm in Jack’s, and in that moment, right there in the middle of the street, Jack feels brave. Brave enough to venture into the unknown, to fight monsters, to kiss his boyfriend until they are both out of breath. He has no idea where or what the unknown is, and there are no wicked creatures in sight, not yet, so he settles for the kiss, cupping Bittle’s face in his hands and gently pressing his smile to his lips.

One day he will love openly and loudly anytime, anywhere.

* * *

**C.**

**cry,** _v._

Bittle cries all too often, has done so ever since he was a child. There are so many emotions under his skin, at the very center of him, and he simply cannot stop them from turning into tears, no matter how hard he tries. He clenches his fists, bites his lip and struggles to stay calm when he is surrounded by faces he does not know or trust. But not in front of Jack; with Jack, he lets the tears fall and lets himself feel while Jack holds him tight, traces light circles on the back of his hand, or laughs softly because _Bits, you’re going to miss the performance_.

* * *

**D.**

**discovery,** _n._

His mother always says that you learn something new every day if you keep your eyes and ears open, and she is only too right. For instance, Isaac Newton discovered the laws of motion and gravity, and last night, before he fell asleep, Bittle was amazed to find out that Jack Laurent Zimmermann loves him back. It was not a life-changing discovery in the grand scheme of things, not really; the world will keep on turning, the sun will keep on shining, and everyone will go on with their daily routine. But today, Bittle feels ten times happier than yesterday.

* * *

**E.**

**effort,** _n._

It is worth it. 

* * *

**F.**

**flashcard,** _n._

Bittle has used flashcards to study for as long as he can remember; those intricate pieces of paper, together with his intricate pies, have been with him every step of the way. Some of the flashcards he makes these days contain facts. Others contain French words. His favorites, though, are the ones that contain both. _You forgot these_. Fact. _Je t'aime_. French words.

Maybe, just maybe, he will accidentally leave his flashcards on Jack’s couch again the next time he goes to Providence for the weekend.


	2. G–L

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Everything the flour touches is my kingdom now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The entries do not really follow a chronological order, just in case anyone was wondering!

**G.**

**glide,** _v._

Faber is theirs tonight, theirs and theirs alone, and if he could, Jack would live in this moment forever. He would gladly lose himself over and over again in the stillness and the magic and the warmth he is feeling right now, eyes trained on Bittle as he gracefully jumps and spins while humming a tune he may have used in the past for one of his routines. There is, Jack thinks, something spellbinding about the way Bittle glides over the ice of this particular rink that watched them grow, lips slightly parted and determination written all over his flushed face. Spellbinding and breathtaking.

Jack would surely live in this moment forever.

* * *

**H.**

**honey,** _n. and interj._

It is sweeter on Bittle’s lips.

* * *

**I.**

**inevitable,** _adj._

His keys, Jack has come to accept, will always go missing whenever he is in a hurry. His socks will come and go, and not all of his shirts will be in his wardrobe forever either. But at least the latter do not disappear in the wash, never to be seen again. Instead, they end up in another wardrobe, one that is forty minutes away from his. Truth be told, though, he does not mind one bit. Not when the sight of Bittle in one of his shirts, always a little too big for him, warms his heart the way it does. And the beaming smile that sight brings to his face is, in itself, another bullet point on an endless list of inevitabilities.

* * *

**J.**

**jumble,** _n._

There are papers and pots and pans and sheets and shorts and photos and pillows everywhere, and in spite of the exhaustion, Bittle cannot stop smiling, because the mess surrounding him is Jack’s mess, too.

This, Bittle knows, is the start of something great; the future has never looked so bright.

* * *

**K.**

**kingdom,** _n._

“Jack Laurent Zimmermann. Don’t you _dare_ set foot on the kitchen until I’m done with this,” Bittle says menacingly, waving a spatula in his direction.

Jack is more amused than scared – he knows that Bittle would not kill him if he did enter the kitchen and stole a glance at what he is baking for his birthday party, but he does as he is told and stands still. For now, at least.

“You see, everything the flour touches is my kingdom now, and you’re banned from it,” Bittle continues, the spatula still in his hand.

“ _Everything_ the flour touches?” Jack asks.

“Everything,” Bittle answers solemnly. “But don’t worry, sweetheart. One day, the kitchen will be clean again, and you will be allowed here.”

Jack is not going to wait that long, though. Suddenly, he steps forward, and before Bittle can understand what is going on, he wipes away some flour from Bittle's right cheek with his nose. Then Jack holds his hands up, smirking down at him.

“I guess I am welcome here now,” Jack says, and he can tell Bittle is trying hard to suppress the smile making its way to his lips.

“No, you are _not_ ,” Bittle retorts, standing on his tiptoes for a moment to place a kiss on the tip of Jack’s nose. “My kingdom, my rules. Now get out of here, Mr. Zimmermann.”

Jack laughs, and he feels like a kid in love.

* * *

**L.**

**line,** _n._

Bittle knows the lines of Jack’s shoulders and neck by heart, has spent countless nights studying them, and yet he still traces them with the same mix of curiosity and adoration as the first time.


	3. M–S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _And the knight and the baker made pies and lived happily ever after._

**M.**

**mumble,** _v._

Bittle can decipher all of Jack's gestures, the hunch in his shoulders and even the slightest frown etched between his brows. Much to his regret, though, he does not think he will ever be fluent in his boyfriend’s drowsy little mumbles. He has heard him talk in his sleep quite a few nights at this point, yet he has only managed to understand his monologues once, and that was just because the sentences were particularly short and both his own name and the word _pie_ were in there. The fact that most of what he says is usually in French does not help at all.

 _Damn it._ Bittle really needs to study.

* * *

**N.**

**natural,** _adj._

You learn a phone number, the names of the planets, the fifty key dates of world history or the rules of a sport. You learn how to add and subtract, how to read music or drive a car. But there are some things that you just know, some things that come to you as naturally as breathing or dreaming at night. Jack never stops to think of what to do with his hands and lips when they find Bittle’s skin – he traces and kisses every line in his body effortlessly, unhesitatingly; it is the easiest thing he has ever done.

* * *

**O.**

**oh,** _interj._

Bittle's heart is doing _things_ , but his mind is not doing anything whatsoever, the zoo in his stomach and the warm ghost of Jack’s lips distracting him, and so his fingers have been hovering over the screen of his phone for the past two minutes. Hovering and trembling. His first and last thought after reading Jack’s text was a simple _oh_ ; then happiness washed over him and turned every word in Bittle’s vocabulary into exclamation points. And he cannot reply to Jack’s "I meant it" with exclamation points. Bittle wants him to know he meant it, too. God, he meant it with every fiber of his being.

* * *

**P.**

**puddle,** _n._

Some storms Jack has to face alone, that is just the way it is. But it is comforting to know that from now on, at the end of it all, Bittle will be there with two pairs of rain boots and the brightest smile on his face, ready to take Jack’s hand and walk through the puddles with him.

* * *

**Q.**

**quest,** _n._

Not so long ago, in a land closer than it seems, a courageous Canadian knight was sent on a quest to find a dozen sticks of butter and a considerable amount of flour for the most skilled baker in the realm, who would be staying in the castle for a week and needed those ingredients to perform his wondrous, delicious magic.

The knight left the castle with steely resolve in his eyes and only his thoughts for company, and soon he acquired the flour and seven sticks of butter. He walked and walked and got four more in his next stop, and after a long, long search, when all hope seemed lost, he found the last stick of butter in a quaint establishment he had never heard of. However, as the backer was about to find out, that was not the only thing he bought there.

Exhausted, the knight returned to the castle, where the backer awaited. He gave him the flour and the butter, and before he got his reward, he showed the baker the other items he had brought back with him – two ceramic rabbits which turned out to be salt and pepper shakers.

“I saw them and thought of you,” the knight said, a shy smile forming on his lips as he looked at the baker.

He got his reward then, the kiss he had been promised he would be given in the first place and another kiss for the salt and pepper shakers, and the knight and the baker made pies and lived happily ever after.

* * *

**R.**

**rebellion,** _n._

The first time Bittle calls him _sweetheart_ , Jack’s heart skips a bit. The first time he says “I love you, too” after the words slip out of Jack’s mouth, his pulse starts a revolution, and he is helpless to slow it down.

* * *

**S.**

**soar,** _v._

 **(18:38) Bittle:** here we go!

 **(18:49) Bittle:** aaaand now we’re soaring, flying

 **(18:50) Bittle:** there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t read

 **(18:50) Bittle:** reach*

 **(18:52) Jack:** sorry, i was talking to my dad

 **(18:52) Jack:** that was beautiful, bits :-)

 **(18:53) Jack:** text me when you land, okay?

 **(18:53) Bittle:** oh my gdo

 **(18:53) Bittle:** god*

 **(18:54) Bittle:** JACK

 **(18:54) Jack:** what?

 **(18:54) Jack:** bittle are you okay??

 **(18:55) Bittle:** i just

 **(18:55) Bittle:** i need to tweet this

*

> **Eric Bittle (@omgcheckplease).**  When you make a HSM reference and the other person doesn't get it. #why #smh #hsm
> 
> **Eric Bittle (@omgcheckplease).**  A rewatch is in order now, I guess (◔◡◔✿)


	4. T–Z

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Three months, countless conversations and a few kisses later, they were boyfriends. Now it is October, and they are everything. Boyfriends, best friends, teammates. And they would do anything for the other member of their own little team._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Telling a story through dictionary entries is fun until you reach the last group of letters. But I enjoyed writing this last part in spite of everything, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

**T.**

**teammate,** _n._

They were teammates before they were anything else; numbers 1 and 15, the captain and his forward. They practiced under the same roof, played in the same line and looked out for each other in every game. And somewhere along the way, without neither of them realizing it, they became friends, too. Jack and Bittle, Bittle and Jack.

Summer came and faded, turning into fall, weeks and months passed, and god did they fall hard. Bittle knew it quite soon, but it took Jack some time to understand what he was feeling, to put a name to the sense of lightness and warmth that washed over him whenever Bittle was around. The day he finally did, though, he ran across campus as fast as he could and let Bittle know with a kiss. Because the only word in his mind in that moment was his name.

Three months, countless conversations and a few kisses later, they were boyfriends.

Now it is October, and they are everything. Boyfriends, best friends, teammates. And they would do anything for the other member of their own little team.

* * *

**U.**

**unconditionally,** _adv._

There is no other word for the way they both love.

* * *

**V**

**verdict,** _n._

It is a truth universally acknowledged that using pet names in public is _gross_ , and this truth is well fixed in the minds of most of the members of the Samwell Men’s Hockey Team. Jack and Bittle are the exception, together with Chowder. Ransom and Holster have to remind them time and again that it is _a fineable offense under our bylaws, bros_.

Today they sit before the Samwell Hockey Court to be judged by the boys once again because Bittle said _sugar_ and _honey_ in the span of two minutes, and everyone was there to hear him and be grossed out.

“Eric Richard Bittle,” Ransom says, pointing at him with a wooden spoon. “How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?”

“Not guilty?” Bittle answers, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. But they all know he is lying.

“Not guilty, my ass!” Holster chimes in. Lardo tries not to laugh.

“It’s okay, I’ll pay,” Jack says, and he does. He puts the money in the fine jug with the biggest smile on his face.

He will gladly pay every time one of them makes a slip; it is definitely worth it.

* * *

**W.**

**willpower,** _n._

Leaving the bed to go for a run is fairly easy for Jack, he is used to getting up at the same ungodly hour every single day at this point. Yet he seems to forget how to do just that whenever Bittle stays over; they turn into a tangle of limbs and blankets overnight, _a really warm tangle of limbs and blankets_ , and Jack cannot bring himself to move when his alarm goes off the next morning. Some days he tries, he does try, but he fails terribly. Most days, though, he does not try at all. And honestly? He does not regret it in the slightest.

* * *

**X.**

**x,** _n._

When Jack walks into the living room, hair still wet from his shower, he finds a note in Bittle’s bubbly handwriting on the cover of the book he had been reading earlier. Bittle does not say a word as he picks it up, does not even lift his gaze from the screen of his laptop, but his smirk gives him away; he is clearly waiting for some sort of reaction, and so Jack starts to read the piece of paper he is holding.

> Please mark the appropriate box next to your answer choice with an X.

Suddenly he feels betrayed. Surprise tests on pop culture should be illegal, he thinks. He makes a feeble attempt to glare at Bittle and goes back to the note, already going over every single fact about Ariana Grande he has learned. Because he _knows_ this quiz will be about her; Bittle has been listening to her music non-stop lately.

> Question: Movie and cuddles?

_Oh._

> □ Yes □ No □ Yes, but first you need to finish that paper, Bits. Your education is important. Blah, blah, blah. I KNOW, HONEY. I KNOW.

Jack laughs loudly then, probably louder than he has in weeks, and so does Bittle, and he would not trade that laugh for anything.

Jack walks up to him a moment later, grabs his blue pen and uses it to mark the third box. Then he places the note right next to Bittle’s pencil case, kissing the top of his head.

“Blah, blah, blah,” he whispers teasingly.

* * *

**Y.**

**yes,** _interj._

Bittle breathes out a _yes_ for an answer, and Jack feels as though he had just been given the entire world.

* * *

**Z.**

**zillion,** _n._

“I’m going to write you a post-it note every day,” Bittle says one day over breakfast, in the quiet of their apartment.

“Every day for a year? Or every day of your life?” Jack asks.

“Every day, year after year. For as long as we're together,” Bittle answers dramatically, but Jack knows he is completely serious about it.

“That’s a lot of notes then, Bits,” Jack remarks, his lips already curving into that warm smile that is only for the beautiful boy in front of him, and he hopes Bittle understands what he is not saying out loud.

“A zillion,” Bittle agrees, voice bright and so full of _love_.

_A zillion._

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [lirapheus](http://lirapheus.tumblr.com). Thanks for reading!


End file.
